Air Group has announced its first equity release provider ‘Temperature Check’, focusing on a number of key service measures as experienced by advisers.
 
The service analysis has been designed to give smaller advisers a collective voice, Air Group stated, in terms of providing feedback on providers’ service levels.

The retirement specialist said it hopes to “encourage stronger dialogue” in order to improve service standards across the sector.

Almost 200 smaller advisers, who account for 8% of the plans taken out in H1 2020, rated providers they had used on four key service areas and three net promoter factors. The providers whose service levels were reviewed as part of the ‘Temperature Check’ were Aviva, Canada Life, Hodge, Legal & General, LV=, Just, One Family, more2life and Pure Retirement.

Air Group revealed that the top three in its ‘Overall Category’ were Canada Life, Legal & General, and more2life, and that in its ‘Net Promoter Score Category’, the top three were Pure Retirement, more2life, and Canada Life. 

“Many advisers active in the equity release sector are small and medium-sized firms and our new ‘Temperature Check’ means we can offer them a collective voice and help drive up service standards in our sector,” said Air Group CEO, Stuart Wilson.

“Effectively, we are creating a platform to collate, analyse and track feedback, and to encourage providers to take this on board and where necessary, react to it.

“Given the time period that this ‘Temperature Check’ covers, any provider making the top three in any of our categories deserves considerable praise. The national lockdown put a significant amount of pressure on all equity release providers and to maintain a strong level of service throughout that is testament to the commitment these teams have shown to the market.
 
“The ‘Temperature Check’ is a mechanism to highlight excellent service levels within the sector, and to present advisers’ views and, by doing so, help all providers move both their overall and category scores up in the future.
 
“This is now an exercise we will repeat every half-year and we are confident that by sharing this analysis Air Group can continue to help providers drive up their service standards and outputs to an even higher level.”

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